And the final hurdle for Travonte Valentine‘s return to LSU has been cleared.
In July, it was reported that Valentine needed to pass two classes in order to return to LSU and be immediately eligible. The defensive lineman subsequently returned to the Tigers and was practicing with the team, but needed to pass one more class before eligibility was restored.
Monday, LSU confirmed Valentine received a passing grade in the course, meaning he’ll be eligible to play for the Tigers in 2016. He’ll have three years of eligibility remaining.
With the return official, it marks the continuation of a lengthy — and bumpy — odyssey for the touted tackle.
After signing with the Tigers in February of 2014, Valentine dealt with NCAA Clearinghouse issues — the player said another SEC program was the root cause — that forced him to miss the start of summer camp his true freshman season. While he was ultimately cleared to practice, he was not permitted to play in any games because of the lingering academic issues.
Then in April of last year, head coach Les Miles confirmed that Valentine had been suspended, with the specific reason being, again, academics. At the time of hisdeparture from the program last July, it was reported that Valentine, in addition to the academic issues, had failed multiple drug tests.
In January, Valentine expressed hope that Miles would give him another shot with his football team.
A four-star member of the Tigers’ 2014 recruiting class, Valentine was rated as the No. 3 defensive tackle in the country and the No. 7 player at any position in the state of Florida.